Have you ever been a part of something huge? I have, in fact I am in the midst of one of the greatest endeavors of my life and I owe its success to my co-workers. I would like to say the key ingredients are hard work and dedication, which are great qualities, but to reach goals I have found collaboration to be one of the greatest assets I have in my arsenal.

For a couple of years I have been writing a personal blog. Throughout its course I have found great advice and constant help from the people I spend my days with. Several of my co-workers have taken an active interest in its success. Not only do they participate by reading each day’s post, comment and retweet links they find interesting or helpful, they have become sounding boards for ideas. I have my own personal cheering section willing to roll up their sleeves and help when needed. Dave meticulously edits my articles in the morning before work. Megan has spent countless evenings discussing my mission and vision, offering ideas to accomplish them. Scott has volunteered weekend time helping with technical aspects, special programing as well as discussing overall strategy. Of course this list wouldn’t be complete unless I mentioned that Phil hosts my site for free. He says it’s a perk of being employed with ACES but I know it is because he cares about his employees and their personal success as much as their professional achievement. So in essence, collaboration of this kind is the reason I’ve been successful, both personally and professionally.

In the true spirit of the collaborative mindset, ACES launched a Marketing User Group this past summer. The idea was to invite others in to share their knowledge of all things related to marketing technology. Spending one hour a month to discuss topics, share ideas and offer solutions. This has been a wonderful time getting to know other professionals while coming away full of ideas.

Since the key ingredient of this group is collaboration there was a need to further the conversation throughout the month. As a result we developed a marketing portal to share these ideas and observations with each other as they come.

The portal boasts of discussion groups based on the topics we’ve identified during our first user group meetings, although discussions are not exclusively limited to these topics. The current topics consist of those related to online marketing, building and maintain an effective web presence, traditional marketing, social networking, blogging, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and using Facebook as a successful marketing tool. Other groups are being added as the conversation arises and members are encouraged to join a group, and participate in the discussion by both asking questions and offering advice and suggestions. The site was launched at the beginning of this month and its success depends on community involvement.

Just as my team has helped to shape and develop my personal blog, the community’s involvement in this marketing portal will help form the topics we discuss during our monthly user group meeting. The more involvement the better; it is for everyone. The portal is free and you can register by visiting amt2.com/mug. Join the groups that interest you and post a question or two. Let the collaborative spirit of our members offer tips and suggestions that will help and inspire you in your marketing efforts. Learn and grow with us! Will you join in this community and become a part of this powerful team?

Note: Please consider joining our monthly meeting also. We meet at 9:00 am, the third Wednesday of the month at ACES. For an upcoming calendar and location details, please visit our amt2.com homepage.

View Screenshots of the Marketing Portal